Road Trip {2012}

Greg and I had a fantastic time on our trip out east!  Here's our vacation in pictures!

Day 1: Drove to Indiana and hung out at some sand dunes on Lake Michigan.  The sand dunes were beautiful and very hot on the feet!

Day 2:  Drove to Ohio and to the Football Hall of Fame...per my request.  It was amazing to see so much memorabilia...I particularly liked the Packers "stuff."  Also on display was a de-activation report from the Vikings.  It was the first time in about a bazillion years that Brett Favre didn't play in a consecutive game. 

We stayed at a really classy hotel that night...it's all Greg's fault.  Let's just say that we stayed in really nice places from that day on.

Day 3:  Drove and drove and drove.  We came across the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, PA.  The plane crash landed where the boulder is at the end of this field.  A sobering reminder of 9/11.

Day 4:  We spent all day at Gettysburg.  The museum was enormous and amazing.  Greg was in heaven.

We also did a driving tour of the battlefield.  There are tons of statues and things along the way. 

Day 5:  We got our first taste of Washington D.C. with the Museum of Natural History.  We agreed that Mya would have loved the animals wing!

Yep, that's THE Hope Diamond!

The day was pretty cloudy and rainy.  It settled into a mist later on and we ventured down to the Capital.

We also went to Ford's Theater (where Lincoln was shot) and then across the street to the Peterson House (where Lincoln died).

Day 6:  We literally did the walking tour of Washington D.C. today!  We hit up all the monuments on the Washington Mall.  We also trekked it up to Arlington National Cemetery.  We probably put on a good 7 miles today!

Day 7:  We went to George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, in Virginia.  I was amazed at how many features in the home are original to it.  It was a beautiful property.

Day 8:  We stayed with our friends, the Hardt family, in Delaware.  It's only about a  30 minute drive from there to Philadelphia.  So, one day we headed there to check out some of the city's historical offerings.

We also took in a Brewers/Phillies game while we were out there.  We had UH-mazing seats (about 12 rows back behind the Phillies dugout).  The Brewers blew the game, but we had a fantastic time...minus the heckling that I got from Phillies fans.

The next couple of days we just drove home.  It was a long trip and the drive home seemed endless.  We had such a great time and really took in so much!  I was sooooo anxious to get back to Mya, though.  She was super excited to see us...just melted my heart.  She screamed when she saw us and literally jumped off the stairs into Greg's arms.  That old saying is true...there's no place like home!

Northern Wisconsin State Fair

Last week we headed over to the fairgrounds to check out the Northern Wisconsin State Fair!  We first visited the school building because I had some of my kids' projects entered...and some won 1st place!  Then we went to the see the animals.  There weren't a lot of animals, which was surprising, but Mya liked the horses, cows, and sheep.  She LOVED the llamas, too!  She kept saying "Llama, llama red pajama."  It's one of her favorite books!  :)

What would a trip to the fair be without chowing down on fair food?  Mya ate french fries...a lot of them.  I dined on a corn dog, cheese curds and lemonade.  Can you just feel the arteries clogging???

Daddy was the lucky one who got to go on the rides with Mya this time!  They rode on a bumblebee, teddy bear and carousel.  Most of the other rides were too big for her.  But, she thoroughly enjoyed what she did ride on!

Within minutes of leaving the fair, this is what our little love bug looked like.  Zonked out!  It's hard work having fun!

Ahhh...Summer!

Lucky for us, we've been able to spend a lot of time out on the water this summer!  Greg's parents live on Lake Wissota and last week they took the pontoon out to the sandbar and enjoy a little splish splash time in the water!

Fun in the sun sure does tucker a little girl out!

Mya and I also took a day trip up to Axehandle Lake to spend some time with Lisa, Cassie, Blane and the boys.  Mya loves to float in her little starfish (which she has floated in every summer since she was born!).  I think she appreciates the fact that she can still tool around with her feet in the sand!

Alas, it was time to go.  Mya wanted to "dip" her feet in the water.  This is what she did immediately after I said, "No swimming."  Little stinker.

Our summer continues to be enjoyable!

Fourth of July, Friends and Freezies!

The 4th of July was hot, hot, hot!  We ventured over to Greg's parents for some family time and grilled food!  

Since it was so hot, the kids piled into the pool.  Mya even tried out the Slip n' Slide!

Even though the kid has hair, when it's wet, she looks bald.  Poor thing.

There were even some small fireworks.  Mya wasn't sure of them.  She stuck pretty close to Greg during that time.  

We also met up with the Hardt family one hot day at the Children's Museum.  Mya LOVES being at the Children's Museum!  It was great catching up with Adam, Nicole, and Jackson and we'll be seeing them soon on our trip out east!

Last week, Mya woke up during the night with a very high temp (like 102).  She was so warm to the touch and I felt awful for her.  The next day she was the most lethargic I've ever seen her.  She only wanted to lay on the couch and watch movies.  I didn't mind this too much.  Her molars were coming in, so I figured she wasn't feeling good due to that.  She didn't want to eat or drink anything...but freezies worked like a charm!  Long story short, I'm certain she picked up Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease somewhere.  She started developing these blister-like sores on her feet and then on her hands.  Hasn't made it into the mouth, so that's good.

Potty Time!

One of the "big three" needed to be checked off my summer to-do list...potty training Mya.

She's been ready for a while and I just needed to find a stretch of days that we had nothing going on.  (We were kind of trapped at home, due to the no diaper thing!)  The plan was to just put her in underwear.  I started out by putting her on the toilet every 15 minutes or so.  But, the independent dear that she is got mad at me.  So, I stopped putting her on and started asking if she needed to go.  I'm not going to lie, the first part of the morning was rough.  She had several accidents and kind of freaked about the wetness.  After her nap she had a breakthrough.  She wet her undies a little bit, realized it, came and told me and then finished up on the potty!  That was a huge milestone for her!  Especially on the first day!

The next day there was maybe one or two small wetting accidents, but again, she caught herself and went on the potty after that.  Then it just clicked with her and she started coming to me to tell me that she needed to go potty and went!  Ahhh...another major breakthrough!

My mom picked up a potty chair that goes on the floor, in hopes that she would just go when she needed to.  It has worked out better than I thought!  She takes such ownership in being able to sit down on the chair and go by herself!

She's really been doing so well and is sooooo proud of herself when she goes!  We make a big deal out of it so that she feels like she's accomplishing a big thing!  Chocolate chips have even been handed out for a bribe treat for going potty.

Today has been another successful story!

Here are a few pictures from our potty training days...she loves to just run around in her underwear and would do it all day if I let her!

Mall of America

Last week my mom, Mya and I journeyed over to the Cities for a little amusement park fun at the Mall of America!  I guess it was a test run to see how Mya does on rides and whatnot.  I bought Mya an armband and then whoever the "chaperone" was that went with her got to ride for free.  The wild woman that she is loved all of the rides!

This car ride was HILARIOUS to watch!  It goes around a small track, but when it rounds the corner it whips you around.  My mom and Mya were laughing hysterically!  It was great

This ride was Mya's favorite.  She called it the school bus.  One time on it was enough for me...luckily Grama Shell went too.  Uncle Noah even came over to hang out with us and so he got roped into going too.

We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  As expected, Mya loved eating there.  There were gorillas, fish and thunderstorms.  The gorillas even came alive and when Mya saw that, the look on her face was priceless!

After lunch, Mya crashed in her stroller so my mom and I got to do a little shopping!  I seriously dread having to shop with her because very rarely does she want to stay in her cart or stroller.  This adventure was completely different.  She rode so well in her stroller and enjoyed a little nap too!

When Mya woke up, we were excited to take her on her first visit to the Disney Store!  Oh.My.Goodness...she had fun!  She kept pulling doll after doll because she wanted them all!  She was excited when she found a Pocahontas doll...her favorite movie right now.  I even found her some new big-girl cups and t-shirts.

Here she is thoughtfully trying to decide upon a Pocahontas and Cinderella doll.  She ended up getting both...

That night we went to the pool to cool down.  She was thrilled with the slide, but not so thrilled when I said it was time to go.  Mean mommy.

After pool time and bath time, Grama Shell painted Mya's toenails.  Every morning she points them out to me.  

We had a GREAT time at the MOA!  Maybe a return trip will be in our future!